Chuck Workman’s What Is Cinema?
Attempts To Define The Films That Go Beyond

By Erin Whitney

While film has been a large part of popular entertainment for decades, it is one of the most recent art forms, and one we have yet to fully comprehend. Since audiences shrieked in astonishment at the arrival of the Lumières’ train in 1986 (whether or not that myth is true), we’re still perplexed when trying to condense the magic of the moving image into words.

We’re not talking about Hollywood movies, the big budget, CG-laden pictures that dominate the box office and the Oscars. We’re talking about “cinema,” which is an entirely different creature. Documentary filmmaker Chuck Workman, most known for making the Oscar montages each year, spent the majority of his career editing blockbuster movies into trailers and awards sequences; however, his true love is cinema.

Workman described over the phone in an interview that What Is Cinema? grew out of his previous documentary, Visionaries, which highlighted the work of Jonas Mekas and other experimental filmmakers. “Originally, it was supposed to be another look at avant-garde films,” Workman said, but then he began adding other films that “really push[ed] the limits of cinema.” Just some of the many films shown in Workman’s documentary include 8 ½, Pierrot le Fou, Citizen Kane, Pickpocket, Chinatown, Z, and Michael Snow’s Back and Forth. There’s a little bit of everything for film lovers, as well as four new experimental shorts created just for the documentary.

However, with so many iconic films and filmmakers to include, Workman knew he had to leave some out, and thus, he crafted his own criterion. “I made a rule to myself that it has to stand next to [Robert] Bresson,” Workman said. “For people my age, Bresson is like the Alain Resnais or the very strong, more theoretical filmmaker where you have to study his films; somebody that was serious about their filmmaking.”

When watching What Is Cinema?, devout film fanatics may notice a some of their favorite filmmakers missing or only briefly mentioned, such as Krzysztof Kieslowski, Terrence Malick, and Theodoros Angelopoulos. “There were some filmmakers that I like very much,” Workman said, “but I don’t think that they measure up to Bresson. In some cases, nobody measures up to Bresson, Fellini, or Kurosawa, but it’s an aspiration that people are going towards.” This aspiration that all true cinematic artists are reaching for is what Workman defines as “constantly pushing the envelope.” Those showcased in Workman’s documentary are the ones who constantly strive to reinvent the art form.

For Workman, Hollywood filmmakers are like McDonalds since “they’re going to give you a hamburger that everybody’s going to like,” while cinema is gourmet food for an acquired taste. What Is Cinema? tosses the Happy Meal and raises the standard to three Michelin stars, or the premium filmmakers, according to Workman.

Beyond renowned and celebrated films, Workman’s documentary also includes works of video and visual arts, categories that are can be discussed separately from cinema. When trying to get video artist Bill Viola to be a part of his documentary, Viola’s assistant told Workman that Viola’s area of work didn’t concern filmmaking. “Then Bill called me,” Workman said,  “and said, ‘No, I do do that. That’s what I do: cinema.’ ” Some may argue that Viola’s type of work and many forms of art displayed in a gallery space are of a different breed than filmmaking. Yet, who is to say cinema isn’t art and art isn’t cinema? Is the mode or space of exhibition necessary when defining film? For Workman, it isn’t. “This kind of gallery [and] digital art adds a different kind of experience when watching it, but the tools are the same … you just have a different context.”

With growing technology and new modes for watching movies, exhibition is becoming a more important and widely debated topic. The question remains whether or not viewers can experience the full effect of a film when watching on a tablet or iPhone. While many still prefer the theatrical experience, Workman says these digital innovations aren’t so bad after all. Alluding to a quote by Stan Brakhage about a book of paintings being the next best thing to viewing them in a gallery, Workman said, “I don’t mind. Look at it on a phone, look at it on an iPad.” While he agrees the smaller screen and sound quality are no comparison to a theater, he is still grateful audiences—especially younger generations—can experience films.

When it comes to Workman’s documentary, however, younger audiences unfamiliar with the history of cinema may not know many of the films it discusses. Some of the most recent films included in it date back to nearly 15 years ago. While this paints cinema as more of an archaism, Workman still believes that there are a handful of contemporary filmmakers adding to art form. He mentioned the work of Wes Anderson and Sarah Polley’s documentary, Stories We Tell, which also screened at DOC NYC this year, as some worthy additions to the cinematic canon. “There are people all over the world who are making serious films in other countries where they’re not caught up in the Hollywood distribution system,” Workman added.

Yet even after naming names and discussing an abundance of films, the titular question still remains: What is cinema? It’s something that several filmmakers found challenging to describe in the film, and one filmmaker admitted that he simply couldn’t put it in words. But the man who’s been editing fragments of the moving image for years and devoting his own work to exploring it had an answer. Workman said, “It’s an art form, like classical music, or painting, or poetry, that uses reality spread through a particular time period.” What makes cinema so magically different, for Workman, is the collision of all its parts, which help “to achieve something that couldn’t be achieved any other way.” According to Workman, you can’t explain cinema, you just have to do it. And for us audiences, maybe to fully understand it, we just have to keep watching.

Magnificent Motion

By Alfredo Madrid

For some, skateboarding is a mere pastime. For others it is annoying, dangerous, and quite an utterly dreadful repellant. Yet there are those who stand by their wooden planks as a chivalrous knight would his sword during the heat of battle in the olden days. Skateboarding is a lifestyle for an immensely diverse amount of members who have managed to indelibly form an ever-expanding subculture worldwide.

Skateboarding was born in Southern California when surfers created a device that would let them “ride” the streets and sidewalks when the waves just weren’t making the cut. The advent dates as far back as the 1940s or 1950s. Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world , is also the abode and epicenter of skateboarding.

With its comely nature scene and weather that permits and encourages outdoor activity, Los Angeles has electrified the skateboard scene, drawing skateboarders from all points of the globe. Most of the major companies are situated here, as are some of the best, top-notch talents in the industry. Southern California could quite possibly be the mecca of skateboarding.

Sightings of professionals and amateurs “destroying” or “killing spots” (skateboard lingo in which the act described is equivalent to a full-blown display of mastery, bravery, and technical ability on any terrain, especially life-threatening locations where one’s safety is at risk) is a  common occurrence in sunny Los Angeles.

As skateboarding continues to expand ever larger and captivate public attention at an accelerated rate, the mainstream media is loosening its grip on what it presumes is the negative characteristics and features of the activity. Quite frankly, at the moment, skateboarding is in. It has become a lucrative business, almost as cutthroat as the entertainment industry itself.

Public skate parks have sprouted up all over SoCal seemingly overnight. As for the street spots, some of them are still heavily patrolled by authority, or are simply disfigured with knobs that deem them un-skateable or have been obliterated by fuming tenants and business owners.

Yet skateboarding’s presence as a feature and unshakeable attraction in Los Angeles is undeniable. From the art shows and galleries in Highland Park, to the dive bars strewn throughout the city, and even to late-night parties in Echo Park or the vast Warehouse District, skateboarding continues to reign as quite a popular and omnipresent activity.

In “Skateboarding,” Fabrice Le Mao writes, “all skateboarders, whether professional or not, have an influence on the art world because of the way in which the activity links different social and cultural worlds—skateboarding is an inspiring image and is full of innovative activity in its own right. It seems hardly surprising that some artists deeply appreciate the creativity that comes from the ‘Sport.’ ”

The cataloging aspect of skateboarding brings aboard another seemingly motley and endless avenue for consideration. Whether in a black-and-white photograph, in a classy theater rented out for the evening at a skateboard-movie premiere, or in a kid’s homemade “Sponsor me” tape, documenting skateboarding on film goes hand-in-hand with the act of skateboarding itself. Los Angeles is immensely fruitful for such tendencies with its stock of available and burgeoning spots.

Amateurs, professionals, beginners, and all hybrids of those in between comingle on the streets of Los Angeles, all with one goal unifying them : shred, skate, and destroy. It isn’t the possibility of fame, travel, or money that motivates the devout skateboarder. The drive is the insatiable desire to overcome one’s fear of an obstacle and then proceed to execute the trick with finesse and fluid style.

A few compatriots of mine elaborated on the theme.

Josh Sierra, 24, a Los Angeles native, grew up skating this impressive city.  His conception of what skating is and his belief that a successfully executed trick will lead to both psychological and physical satiety, is a keen observation. Sierra appears to be under the assumption that success on the board has a metaphysical effect on the mind.

“I skateboard because it forces me to combine heart and mind in order to realize a higher mental and physical potential, which can only be found through perpetual motion,” Sierra said. “I guess, psychologically that is."

“When you combine your mental intention and it coordinates with your physical potential, it's very rewarding, that is trying and not getting it right but finally landing it.  You’ve got to go out of your comfort zone if you want a more rewarding session; you have to purposely make it harder on yourself if you want to get better.”

Joseph Aivazian, 31, from Glendale, Calif., just outside downtown Los Angeles, had a different take on the subject.

“It’s like going into the abyss … mainly it’s just fun and adventure for a really free-spirited individual – a complete escape from reality.”

“Tony Hawk’s Game came out, skateboarding was really popular … my older cousin skated,” said Tony Karr, 21, from Los Angeles, in reference to what initially motivated him to try skateboarding.

Gabriel Martinez, 34, also from Los Angeles, spoke of skateboarding in a somewhat spiritual sense.  “Basically, I started because it looked like a magical thing to do,” Martinez said.  “I like to get my Zen on … exercise, get my mind off things. It’s pretty therapeutic. … It’s fun doing tricks with friends; a high-five or two feels good.”

Mikey Ayala, an Eagle Rock native, 30, was attracted to the craft’s stylish aspect.

“I was into a lot of sports, but I got over it. Skateboarding allows you to express yourself individually by still being physical. … I met a lot of the people I do music with through skateboarding,” Ayala said.

As can be surmised by the attentive reader, allowing oneself to ride a plank of wood on four wheels down the street is neither safe nor dangerous. It is an experiment that allows the individual to step away from conventions. Nonetheless, it has enamored thousands the world over, and as can be expected, it is by far most definitely welcome.

Dallas Buyers Club Screenwriters
Talk The Film’s Journey To The Screen

By Erin Whitney

Screenwriter Craig Borten made a promise 20 years ago to Ron Woodroof. This year, Borten followed through on that promise in bringing Dallas Buyers Club to the screen.

The film, which has been nominated for a handful of Golden Globes, SAG and Academy awards, recounts Woodroof’s journey as a homophobic rodeo cowboy who became a champion for AIDS victims. Woodroof, portrayed by Matthew McConaughey, is diagnosed with AIDS in 1985 and given 30 days to live. After an FDA-approved drug nearly kills him, he decides to take control of his recovery and begins illegally smuggling medications into the U.S. With the help of Rayon (Jared Leto), a transgender suffering with AIDS, Woodroof starts a buyers club that sells the alternative medicines to victims of the disease.

The story behind Dallas Buyers Club is not only one about a man fighting to stay alive, but also one about those devoted to telling his story, even if it took two decades to make it happen. The screenwriters behind the film, Borten and Melisa Wallack (Mirror Mirror), talked with REAP about the seemingly endless challenges they faced and what they hope the film inspires in audiences.

How did you first learn about Ron Woodroof’s story?

Borten - A friend of mine sent me an article in The Independent. It was called "Staying Alive", and it covered the international gray market and the people that established it, who were smuggling in underground AIDS therapies for opportunistic infections and started buyers clubs. It had a feature on Ron Woodroof, who started the Dallas Buyers Club. I just thought he was a fascinating character, wrote him a letter, ultimately got him on the phone, and he said, “If you want to interview me, be here tomorrow.” So I drove to Texas and met with him for three days, about 25 hours of interviews on Dictaphone, and that’s what the movie’s based on.

And was that back in 1992?

Correct. That was 1992, and he passed about a month later.

Melisa, when did you join the film, and what drew you to it?

Wallack - I came on in 2000. What drew me to it? I think basically the character of Ron and his journey. Craig had written a bunch of drafts, and when I read it, I just immediately knew that he was a character that would be so much fun and gratifying to write.

Making this film took 20 years. What were the main setbacks?

Borten - There were so many different setbacks. One was the time, the closeness to the disease. It’s a tough subject matter, it’s a tough character. His character [Ron] doesn’t really lend itself to a studio movie, even though we got a studio involved. I think the different types of actors that were involved and filmmakers kind of elevated the material so that studios couldn’t look away. Ultimately, I think it was always an independent film that Melisa and I saw as this unlikely friendship between Ron Woodroof and Rayon, and it was best served as an independent movie. The thing is, certain films just take what they take. People think you set up a project and it’s in production six months later, but the truth is a lot of great films, or a lot of good films, take at least 10 years to get off the ground, and if you get it done before then, you’re lucky.

Were there any other challenges when developing the film?

Borten - Are you kidding me? (Borten and Wallack laugh)

Wallack - Every challenge. It was a difficult movie when we tried to get financing for it. I think almost every financer was like, “No one cares about AIDS. We don’t want to make a movie about it.” And obviously the financing part of every movie is so difficult, but this movie in particular just kept falling apart. Three weeks before we were shooting it fell apart. We kept on losing days, we kept on losing money. Writing someone’s life is a very difficult thing to do, and you always know there are going to be aspects that are left out. I think you definitely have to fall in love with the character and the story in order to persevere, so thankfully we had Ron as a character. I think both of us are so inspired by him that he kept us going.

Borten - His “never say die” attitude created our “never say die” attitude. Also, I made a promise to Ron that I would get his story told. He’s like, “I have a question for you, Craig. When will this film be in production?” And I was like, “Maybe a year, year and a half tops.” I was like, “Geez, I’m late.” I was late on the promise, but it happened eventually.

Did you ever have a specific actor in mind to play Ron?

Borten - Mostly I don’t write with actors in mind. We just fell in love with this character, and we just wanted to service the page and write an amazing character. We just happened to get, I don’t know, I guess we got lucky. We got four great actors that cast at different times that loved the material.

Jared Leto’s Rayon is one of the best parts of the film, and he has been nominated for a Supporting Golden Globe. What was it like writing such a groundbreaking character who is transgender?

Wallack - It was really great. Jared’s character is really the heart of the movie. We met with a lot of people, transgender people, Craig had spoken to them too before, and I think it was a very interesting experience. We feel really blessed to be able to write a character like that and see it come to life. And the added benefit of Jared, who is so much more amazing than we could’ve hoped for or thought anyone would be.

Borten - I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but I think it was a very risky role for an actor to take. You could fall on your face, but Jared just humanized him, just made him beautiful. It was so much fun to watch him create this character, bring this character to set, and watch it evolve over the 25 days.

I read that when Craig met with Ron, he said he wanted a film to be made so that people would ask questions. What are those questions you, and he, hope the film makes people ask?

Borten - That’s a great question. I’m glad you asked it! I think ultimately, he wanted to empower people. From his point of view it was like, “I’m given these 30 days, what do you do?” For me, it was like, “Would I have the balls to be as proactive as Ron? Would I have the balls to sue for medication and smuggle drugs that I feel could help me and create a movement?” I found it inspiring, and I think Ron in the film poses that question.

Wallack - I think that our film and what Ron was getting at is that it transcends the AIDS epidemic. That you don’t sit and be a passive observer, and that you really become proactive in all aspects of your life. That you don’t just take everyone’s opinions. You have to formulate what your own path is going to be. You really have to ask questions about everything.

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Happy And You Know It
A Short Story

By Trevor Ziegler

It had been almost two months since Tommy left his job as a call-center representative at a local bank. He spent his days aimlessly trolling the Internet, searching for the “perfect” job, something that he slowly began to realize might not even exist. It’s not that Tommy was particularly picky, either. He just had no idea what he wanted to do. At three years out of college, his biggest achievements as a self-proclaimed adult had been moving out of his parents’ basement and accumulating credit-card debt. He was hardly living up to the standards set by the rousing keynote speech of the young-entrepreneur-turned-billionaire at their commencement ceremony.

He woke up Tuesday morning around 11 a.m.; earlier than usual. It took all the strength he could just to roll out bed and check his email for any prospective job contacts. None. He was used to the rejection at this point. It was almost as if he went through the motion just so he wouldn’t feel guilty in the event he told someone he had been productive that day. Tommy sighed and checked his Facebook page. He made a mental tally: six friends engaged, three promoted at work, seven on vacation at some sort of tropical paradise, and 39 had made their own dinners and felt compelled to share them with the world.

Tommy rolled his eyes at the computer screen. Throughout the years, social media had transformed into a place that further validated his descent into mediocrity. Everyone around him was slowly turning into what he called “real” people: the type of people with 401ks, benefits, company cars, and frequent brunch dates. They were the people who talked about work when they weren’t at work with friends. More importantly, they were the type of people that he believed traded happiness for a paycheck. They were trading it for an illusion.

But why wasn’t he happy? It was a question he had asked himself many times. Tommy wished he could be a real person, someone who could just throw on a smile and hide behind his 401k and fancy brunch dates. He imagined himself making quinoa patties with dill dipping sauce, and sharing a picture all of his friends could see with a caption reading, “Yum! Compliments to the chef (me lol)”.

Tommy finally decided to leave his computer and get dressed before he inevitably began second-guessing every life decision he had made leading up to that point. Sadly, this was something that occurred more often than not if he was on Facebook for too long.

A lethargic Tommy slowly disrobed, grabbed a towel, and proceeded to take a long shower. He didn’t even need the shower; he just figured it was something to do that would pass the time. Tommy had a full day of nothing ahead of him, and he was fully committed to taking zero advantage of it. Aside from the occasional sigh, only the sound of the shower water beating against the acrylic tub filled his empty studio apartment.

As he began to put on a dirty pair of basketball shorts he had worn a few days prior, Tommy stopped himself. He decided to actually go outside that day, straying from his normal daily routine of watching Netflix in between naps. This required he put on some big-boy pants, the type secured by a belt and not a drawstring. With the final buckle of the belt on his slightly worn thrift-store jeans, he already felt like he had accomplished something that day.

By the time Tommy stepped out of his apartment building, it was already past noon. The streets were flooded with professionals filing into the local restaurants on their lunch breaks. He got caught behind two young, well-dressed professionals discussing a major conflict that had presumably come up at their work earlier that day. Tommy was intrigued.

“I just don’t understand why anyone would do that. It doesn’t make any sense,” the man said to his female counterpart. Tommy decided the man looked like every Men’s Wearhouse catalog he had ever accidentally looked at. He hated him for this.

The woman chimed in: “I have honestly never been so angry at work in my life!” She was a shorter, attractive woman, but there was something about her Tommy found agitating. “I literally want to die right now; they can’t just take away Free Massage Fridays. It’s not fair,” the woman added.

And that’s why I hate her. Tommy put on his headphones as a silent protest to the conversation he had been subjected to, and decided he needed a drink. He walked another two blocks and spotted a new bar that he decided to give a shot.

The bar was completely empty, with the exception of the bartender and a girl sitting at the end of the bar, quietly drawing in a sketchbook. Tommy took a seat at the bar and ordered an IPA. As he waited for the drink, he couldn’t help but to glance over at the girl every so often. Something about her demanded his attention.

She was a natural beauty. Her fair skin seemed to radiate, even under the dim bar lighting. Her piercing green eyes remained fixated on the sketchbook as she continued to draw. A bomb could’ve gone off under her chair, and it probably wouldn’t have even stirred her. Her focus captivated Tommy. It had been so long since he had been that genuinely engaged in anything the way she remained captivated by her sketchbook.

After his first beer, he felt he had the courage to comment on a SportsCenter segment that was playing on one of the large flat-screen televisions. “Who cares if they’re juicin’; everyone just wants to see some home runs,” Tommy joked. The bartender, fixated on his iPhone, politely chuckled at Tommy’s attempt at banter before averting his attention back to the phone screen. Tommy took the hint and ordered a Bloody Mary out of spite. The bartender sighed as he scrambled to find the ingredients to make the drink.

Tommy smugly smiled to himself as he waited for his drink. In the corner of his eye, it appeared as if the girl at the end of the bar was staring at him. He slowly turned his head and saw her smiling at him. Unabashed by Tommy’s detection, she held her smile for a few moments before returning to her sketchbook.

What the hell does she want? Tommy took a sip of his Bloody Mary and blankly stared back at the television screen. He couldn’t stay mad at her. Those eyes. I wonder what she’s drawing. A thousand possibilities ran through Tommy’s head. Was she drawing him? Is that why she was staring so longingly? Perhaps she fell in love with him the moment he stepped through the door. I’m not ready for something so serious. He laughed to himself for jumping to a radical conclusion so quickly.

Perhaps she’s designing clothes. Her attire seemed to validate this assumption. It was unlike anything he had ever seen someone wear. It didn’t quite seem to match, and anyone else would’ve looked like an idiot wearing those clothes. Yet it seemed to complement her unique beauty. She was perfect.

His imagination began to run wild. Perhaps she was drawing her own made-up world; creating her own characters and stories. Perhaps this was her escape. What are you escaping from? Maybe he was one of those characters. Maybe she was creating a happy ending for him. Could she be his happy ending?

He was lost in an infinite maze of possibility. One more drink and I’ll talk to her. Tommy ordered another beer. Suddenly, the girl set her pencil down on the bar and intently studied her creation. She seemed entranced by what she had drawn. After a few moments, she smiled, gently ripped the piece of paper out of her sketchbook, and placed it on the bar. She slowly gathered her things, and before Tommy could say anything to her, she was gone. Oh well. Tommy took a sip of his freshly poured beer. He glanced over at the end of the bar where the girl had been sitting. What could she have possibly been drawing? Tommy could no longer contain his curiosity. He took a sip of his beer and walked over to what had been built up in his head as a masterpiece. Anyone who could spark my imagination without saying a word must be a genius.

Tommy took his final steps as he approached the piece of paper. He picked it up and examined it carefully. This is it? The masterpiece he had composed in his head looked more like the work of a fourth grader. The picture depicted two shoddily drawn human figures, holding hands and smiling in the middle of a field, one male, one female. A large anthropomorphic sun shone down on them in the corner of the page. Small modified “V’s” that could only be interpreted as birds scattered throughout the cloudless sky. The word “happy” was written in the bottom left corner of the page in small, barely legible handwriting.

Baffled, Tommy placed the paper down on the bar and sat back down. Could this have been a message for him? I mean, she was staring at me. He smiled at the possibility that he inspired the girl’s artwork, regardless of its obvious lack of aesthetic value.

But she had inspired Tommy as well. It had been so long since he had let his mind wander in such a way. Instead of wallowing in his apparent missteps, he created a world in which he meant something; a world he wanted to live in. She had made him a dreamer again. Perhaps this was what happiness truly meant to Tommy: the capacity to dream. It was easy to get lost in the superficial world that surrounded him. Without a dream, life became a chore and hope became failed expectation. Tommy finished the last of his beer, leaving a hefty tip for the bartender. He smiled to himself as he exited the bar. Happy.